US Customs' Aguilar to Retire in Late March

Customs and Border Protection head David Aguilar will step down at the end of March, ending a 31-year career in which he served as deputy commissioner and then acting commissioner of the agency.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano didn’t name his successor in her announcement of Aguilar’s retirement. The agency has lacked a politically appointed chief for more than a year, after then-commissioner Alan Bersin resigned in December 2011 when the Senate Finance Committee refused to consider his nomination.

“Because of (Aguilar’s) efforts over the past three decades, our country’s borders and border communities are safer and more secure, and he leaves behind a more sophisticated and agile law enforcement agency — our nation’s largest,” Napolitano said.